Only when he faced Aokiji alone did Carlmand truly feel that pressure.
His opponent's terrifying aura left Carlmand drenched in cold sweat. Faced with Aokiji's sudden attack, he had no choice but to defend with all his strength.
Whoosh!
A fierce sword slash flew straight toward Aokiji. He hurriedly stopped his attack and instantly conjured an ice shield, coating it with Armament Haki to block the slash.
Swordsmanship at the level of a great swordsman, combined with Armament Haki no weaker than his own-Aokiji was not foolish enough to underestimate an attack of that caliber.
If he took that slash without defending, he really would be seriously injured.
"Aokiji, our duel isn't over yet, and you dare lay a hand on my crew?"
"Do you think I'm just standing here watching the show?"
"Multiple Space Swap."
Kazu vanished from where he stood, appearing on Aokiji's left the next instant and bringing his blade down hard.
Aokiji conjured two ice blades as well, coating them with Armament Haki as he engaged Kazu at close quarters.
Seeing the two going at it again, Smoker had enough self-awareness to hurry back some distance.
When Kazu's slash failed to land, he vanished on the spot, reappearing behind Aokiji a second later and thrusting his blade straight at his kidneys.
Aokiji was startled and hurriedly turned around, determined to defend his kidneys to the death.
Then came the third time, the fourth...
In just ten seconds, Kazu swapped positions dozens of times, as though he had activated an unlimited Flying Thunder God.
At first, Aokiji could still keep up with these sudden attacks. A few seconds later, he could only defend passively, taking over a dozen strikes in one stretch.
Fortunately, Kazu could not land a critical hit with every slash in such a short time. Each attack prioritized speed, so the damage was not too severe.
"Ice Age."
Knowing that defending forever was no solution, Aokiji unleashed an all-directional burst with no blind spots.
Kazu decisively put some distance between them, avoiding Aokiji's ultimate move.
"Space Collapse."
Even as he retreated, Kazu did not forget to throw in another damaging move.
Seeing the space around him begin to shatter, Aokiji hurriedly stopped unleashing Ice Age and leaped clear of the collapsing area.
Large swaths of ice where he had stood were churned to pieces. Seeing that this attack had failed to achieve anything, Kazu was not annoyed.
Aokiji clearly had far more combat experience than Kazu, but Kazu's Devil Fruit ability gave him every advantage. Both had monstrous physiques, and neither could gain the upper hand for the moment.
There were no civilians left in the harbor area. They had all fled far away, leaving room for these two monsters to duel.
Both now had some understanding of the other, and what followed would be an even fiercer clash.
Kazu and Aokiji clashed again. Everything around them was destroyed, and the ground never stopped shaking.
Elsewhere, Behrens had taken down dozens of Marine soldiers and went to help Carlmand fight Smoker.
However, Behrens had yet to master Armament Haki, so he dealt zero damage to the Logia user Smoker.
"Behrens, head east. Makino is still on the ship. Go protect her. I can handle things here alone."
Knowing he could not be of much help, Behrens nodded and ran off to guard the ship.
There was no helping it. Logia users had an absolute advantage over those who had not mastered Armament Haki.
Smoker glanced at the Marine soldiers. Most had merely been knocked to the ground rather than killed, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
Because of his blood loss, he was not in particularly good shape, and he had lost quite a bit of stamina. If this dragged on, he feared he would be the first to fall.
Over a dozen soldiers were still stationed at the Marine Branch. After noticing the commotion, they hurried back to call headquarters.
The situation in Loguetown had already shocked headquarters. Sending a headquarters rear admiral there had been more than generous; it should have been enough to deal with a rookie pirate from the East Blue whose bounty had only just passed a hundred million.
Yet the Loguetown Marine Branch had just called to report that Aokiji had actually been tied down by Her Kazi, captain of the Blond Hair Pirates, and the two were locked in a fierce battle.
Smoker and Carlmand were evenly matched as well, with the outcome still uncertain.
Marine Headquarters had no choice but to reassess this rookie pirate, Kazu.
"Sengoku, we must take this matter very seriously. I suggest sending another five vice admirals. Working together with Aokiji, they should be enough to defeat the Blond Hair Pirates."
"Also, notify Rear Admiral Gedalota. He should be almost at Loguetown by now. Tell him not to interfere in Aokiji's battle. He won't be able to contribute much there anyway. Have him focus on evacuating civilians and keeping losses to a minimum."
Vice Admiral Tsuru, Marine Headquarters' chief staff officer, was also in Sengoku's office. Upon hearing the news, she immediately offered her suggestions.
The five vice admirals were not merely there to assist Aokiji in battle. More importantly, they would cut off the enemy's escape routes.
The Blond Hair Pirates had extraordinary potential. Their captain could already stand against Aokiji at such a young age. If they were allowed to develop their strength for a few more years, wouldn't they soar to the heavens?
As for sending more vice admirals, headquarters could not spare any right now. The seas were too vast, and the Marines had too much territory to cover. There simply was no more combat power sitting idle.
After hearing Chief Staff Officer Tsuru's words, Fleet Admiral Sengoku considered for a moment before saying, "We don't need that many. Pirates in the New World have been causing unrest lately, too. Akainu has already asked headquarters for manpower three times. I plan to send three vice admirals to support him."
"As for Loguetown, we can send Garp. That fellow only told me yesterday that he wanted to go back to the East Blue on vacation. He said something about his grandson wanting to set sail as a pirate, which had him furious. I doubt we can stop him from returning to the East Blue."
"In that case, we might as well hand this matter over to him while we're at it. Even if it's only for the sake of his vacation, Garp won't refuse."
Tsuru approved of Sengoku's decision. If Garp worked together with Aokiji, their opponent would have practically no way out.
Never mind this rookie pirate from the East Blue-even veteran pirate powerhouses like Whitebeard and Kaido could not defeat those two working together.
"I have no objections."
With Tsuru's approval, Sengoku called Garp directly. Time was pressing, after all.
"Hey, Garp. If you want your vacation, get to my office as fast as you can."
On the other end, Garp immediately felt that his luck had turned. That bastard Sengoku had still been saying he needed to think it over yesterday, yet today he had agreed.
Garp had been planning to sneak off first and worry about the rest later. Once he reached the East Blue, even if Sengoku found out, he would have no way to drag him back.
As for after he returned from vacation, well, painfully parting with a bag of rice crackers would be enough to appease his old friend.
He could just steal a few bags back from Sengoku's office when he got the chance later. Either way, he, Garp, would not lose out.
"Wait for me! I'll be right there!"
Garp hung up and headed straight for Sengoku's office, already planning to give that bastard grandson of his, Luffy, a full round of the Fist of Love when he got back.
He would beat him up first, then ask what had happened afterward, to find out what exactly was going on with him and why he suddenly wanted to become a pirate.